MANILA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Christian Standhardinger expressed his disappointment at how things turned out for the Philippines in the fifth window of the Asian Qualifiers.

Hopes were high that Team Pilipinas would pick up a couple of wins in the fifth window, especially since the roster was filled with most of the PBA's biggest names and they were playing bth fixtures at home.

The Filipinos, however, were completely caught off guard by a hot shooting Kazakhstan on 30 November before a fourth quarter collapse doomed them against Iran on 3 December.

Those two losses allowed Japan to overtake the Philippines and pulled Team Pilipinas down to fourth place in Group F. All of a sudden, they are in danger of completely missing out on the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

Because of this unfortunate turn of events, Filipino-German big man Christian Standhardinger couldn't hold back his dismay, hinting at a future full of uncertainty for the national team.

"I don't really know where things will go for," he said. "I have much respect for coach Yeng. He has a great system, and it was really an honor to play for him. I'm sorry we let you down."

Standhardinger admitted that despite the size and talent on their team, the Filipinos still had to adjust to the international style of basketball, which is markedly different from how they're accustomed to playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

"Some of my teammates, they need to really adjust," he said. "For some other guys, it's very tough to adjust so quickly to those games. You play two games and you have a break, and then you play the other way of playing basketball the whole time, and then you go again,"

One of the Philippines' struggles in the fifth window dealt with fouls, especially since they gave up an average of 33.5 free-throw attempts per game to the Kazakhs and Iranians.

 
That's one aspect that Standhardinger knows the Philippines will really have to address moving forward. With 5 wins and 5 losses, they are a game behind Japan and just a game ahead of Kazakhstan. The only way for the Philippines to stay alive for a berth in the World Cup is to win both their games in the final window - a task that is definitely easier said than done, but Standhardinger remains steadfast in his confidence that they can get the job done.

"We need to make the right adjustments for our next two games," Standhardinger said. "But everybody knows I have full faith in coach and my teammates."

The Philippines will fly to Doha and play the Qataris on 21 February next year before ending their Asian Qualifiers campaign seeking payback on the road against Kazakhstan on 24 February.

FIBA